A Brotherly Tale
by Sly Severus
Summary: It's not easy living in the shadow of genuis. Aberforth Dumbledore contemplates his brother while spending time with his special friend.


A Brotherly Tale

The small brown haired boy glared at his older brother as he left with immense envy. _It's just not fair, _thought eight year old Aberforth Dumbledore. Why did his brother get all the attention? What made him so special? Was Albus really that much better than him? Was he really so inconsequential beside his brother that he was invisible? It appeared so.

The little boy crossed his arms and stared out the window. He was sick of being left alone with a nanny. How come he never got to go out with the rest of the family? They kept telling him that it was a special time for Albus. His big brother was starting at Hogwarts and the whole family thought it was amazing. They were always running out to buy him new things. Aberforth never got anything new. Albus would come home, loaded down with packages, but there was never anything for him. His parents told him that he would get new things when it was his turn to start at Hogwarts, but he knew it was a lie. The simple truth was that Aberforth always got less than Albus.

Even at the age of eight, Aberforth was beginning to realize that he would never hold a candle to his big brother. Albus was smarter. He had learned to read when he was only four years old. The small script in books still mystified Aberforth at eight. Perhaps his brother was even a genius; his parents seemed to think so.

But what did that mean for little Aberforth? There was very little love and affection left for the brother of a genius. It appeared that he would be forced to live in his brother's shadow his entire life. There was nothing else available to him. There was no way he could show up his brother. Albus was better at everything. It just wasn't fair. How could two brothers be so different?

Still pouting, Aberforth turned away from the window. The bright sunlight was irritating him. He knew that he should be outside playing; after all, he was only eight years old. He wasn't old enough to be faced with the challenges of trying to measure up. Children were supposed to be loved unconditionally. But with Albus Dumbledore around it was always easy for adults to forget an insignificant, unintelligent child like Aberforth. A child like him was simply unneeded when there was a shiny star in the family.

Even the nanny was neglecting him. He hadn't seen her since his parents left. Most likely, she was in the kitchen preparing a special surprise for Albus. After all, everything was about Albus. He wondered if they would even notice if he left. It didn't matter. He would never find out because he couldn't leave. There was no place for him to go. His own parents didn't want him, who else would?

Sighing, he decided to go outside anyway. He could play with the animals. The animals were the only bright thing in his life. He was very lucky that his family lived on a farm. It gave him an opportunity to spend time with living creatures that didn't judge him. Albus never spent much time with the animals. He was too busy with his books and playing with his new wand. The prat had gotten his wand a week ago and he had already mastered three spells, even though he wasn't allowed to be practicing magic before he went to school. Aberforth briefly considered reporting him to the Ministry, but he figured they would be so impressed with his skills that they would simply allow him to skip school and start work at the Ministry. That was just the kind of luck that Albus Dumbledore had.

By the time he stepped inside the barn, Aberforth was fuming. His big brother was a prat, but everyone thought he was the next Merlin. No one knew what it was like to live with him. They didn't know that his books were more important to him than his family. And that was because at the age of eleven, Albus Dumbledore was already becoming a master manipulator. He knew how to play their parents; he got everything he wanted. Aberforth was the only one who could see his brother for what he was—a selfish manipulator.

Aberforth took a deep breath before entering the goat's stable. He didn't want Maisy to pick up on his hostility. Animals are capable of sensing a human's emotions and he didn't want to upset her. After all, the goat was the closest thing he had to a friend or a family for that matter.

Petting the black furry beast, he slid to the ground beside it. The animal butted him in the arm, begging for attention. It was not customary for a goat to be so friendly, but it was also not customary for a human to pay such attention to a goat. Aberforth and Masiy had a very special relationship. He knew that he was lucky to have her.

The first thing that drew Aberforth to Maisy was the goat's obvious distaste for Albus. Every time his elder brother went near the goat, it would run away. Albus was so uninterested in the farm that he never even noticed.

"You know that he's a git, don't you, Maisy?" he asked as he stroked her coarse feeling fur.

"Who's a git?" asked a familiar voice.

Looking up, Aberforth saw the grinning face of his big brother. The prince had returned to the castle.

"Why are you in here talking to goat?" Albus asked. "Shouldn't you be doing something more constructive? I could try to teach you a spell if you like."

"This is constructive," Aberforth snapped. "Maisy is my friend. Unlike you, I care about living creatures. I know that there are other things in the world besides books and spells."

"I care about living things," Albus told him. "I care about you. That's why I want to teach you spells. You could be the smartest student in your year when you start at Hogwarts."

Aberforth said nothing. Albus would never listen anyway. It wasn't as though he really cared about his brother. He was only saying what sounded appropriate. That was the way Albus was.

"Come on," Albus said reaching out to his brother. "Let's go inside. Mother bought sweets."

As Albus bent down, Aberforth could feel Maisy tense. Instinctively, she went to run away from the unwelcome visitor, however the stable was small and there was nowhere for her to run. Her foot came up and meant Albus square in the nose.

Recoiling in pain, Albus pulled back. Blood was gushing from his nose and it appeared slightly crooked. It looked as though it was broken. Albus ran from the stable with tears in his eyes. He would run to their mother and she would heal him, promising him that everything would be all right.

A few moments later Aberforth followed his big brother into the house, with a concealed grin on his face. However, he first stopped to pat the goat on the head. It was true that Maisy was a good friend and he was lucky to have her.


End file.
